Early in May, in response to a push by some parliamentarians to end the recitation of prayer in the Victorian Parliament, Catholic Archbishop Peter A Comensoli joined representatives of Victoria’s faith communities in signing a letter sent to each member of the Victorian Parliament expressing ‘the fundamental and ongoing importance of prayer in Parliament’ and calling on them to ‘ensure its practice continues to play an integral part of our democratic tradition’. Pointing out that the majority of Victorians ‘believe in a God or a Higher Power other than themselves’, the Archbishop, along with representatives of the Anglican, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish communities, asked Members of Parliament ‘to respect these beliefs and the rich, long-held traditions on which our parliamentary system has been built’.
Over the following weeks, Victorians were also encouraged to sign a petition calling for the Lord’s Prayer to be retained in the Legislative Council, and to write to their local state Member of Parliament, respectfully letting them know their views. Under the Legislative Council’s Standing Orders, the petition needed 10,000 signatures by 17 June to be taken into consideration by the chamber. Exceeding this goal, the petition was presented to Parliament on 19 June with 10,912 signatures. A debate on the petition in the Legislative Council is now listed for Wednesday 31 July. You can follow proceedings in Parliament at www.parliament.vic.gov.au
Source: Melbourne Catholic
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